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    Positively, two thirds
    of Legal employees are
    satisfied in their current role

  • One of the most interesting discoveries from our data was that 43% of people in the Legal industry said they are contemplating changing career in the next 12 months. This is four times more than the average benchmark of 11% across all the Professional Services specialisms we surveyed.

     

    Several sources have determined that the reason behind employees leaving the profession is because of a heavy workload and dissatisfaction with their work-life balance. Thomson Reuters states, “This “Great Resignation” of 2021 did not spare the legal community. Instead, it resulted in burned-out and dissatisfied lawyers re-examining the law firm culture in which they were working, and taking steps to achieve a work-life balance that they found acceptable.”

    Considered changing career
    in previous 12 months

  • 51% of Legal professionals we surveyed said they would accept a lower paid job for a better work-life balance or more fulfilling work. However, this is 23% lower than the benchmark figure of 74%, suggesting that salary is still clearly an important factor for many Legal professionals when choosing a role.

    Interestingly, when it comes to work-life balance, our data shows the opposite of what industry experts are seeing or predicting. 85% of employees we surveyed said their current situation was either average, good or very good. This could be perhaps as a result of more flexible working options becoming commonplace.

  • Would you accept a lower salary in exchange for better work life balance or more fulfilling work?

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  • How are employers responding to this?

     

    Legal firms are not optimistic about the wider economic climate.

     

    In order to retain staff only 22% said they’ve made counter offers to employees who have handed in their notice in the last year. The main driver behind this lack of counter-offering seems to be that the vast majority of employers (86%) believe they can find similar talent in the market for the same salary.

     

    However, while they may not feel the need to counter-offer employees wanting to move to a different firm, Legal employers are continuing to recognise that to attract and retain top talent they need to offer more than a competitive salary.

     

    The top three benefits law firms are currently offering their people are a company car or allowance, pension provision above the legal minimum and paid volunteering days – with our data showing 89% for each. In line with the flexible working trend in the Legal industry, many employers are providing equipment for remote working (77%) and over 28 days paid annual leave (77% also).

    Standard benefits

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  • Whilst Legal firms believe that when an employee leaves they can find someone with the same talent available for the same salary, 100% of firms we surveyed offer benefits over and above salary which shows that they still recognise the need to do more to attract and retain top talent.

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